I should have kept you
by Sugar Pumpkin
Summary: Nothing could have prepared her for what Charming had to offer: a new life, a new family & a wonderful yet dangerous love story.
1. Prologue

Prologue.

It was during one of the rainiest day of fall that a girl went knocking at Elliot Oswald's house, unaware that her whole life was about to change. The curly, red-haired woman had seen an advertisement on her favourite website and had decided to go from Atlanta to Charming to meet the man who needed someone to work at his ranch. She remembered their conversation over the phone. He had asked her why he should hire her and then what she had answered had made him laugh so much he had no choice but to hire her. "I'm a country gal who wants to be a vet!" And that was how she got hired.

Next to her, only two small suitcases. Behind her, an old black mustang. She had never had much things and was hoping to gain enough money to at least change her wardrobe for the summer and maybe change the breaks on her car. Finally, the door swung open on a tall, lean man. "Hi! You must be Autumn! I'm Elliot." he said, placing his hand in front of him. She shook his hand while looking at him in the eyes and waited for him to invite her inside. He went out of the way and welcomed her inside his house. After a quick tour inside the biggest house Autumn had ever seen, he went inside the kitchen. "Coffee?" he asked. Autumn was about to answer when loud rock music suddenly came out from one of the rooms. "Teenagers." said Elliot, rolling his eyes. After preparing coffee, he invited Autumn outside and sat on a wooden bench, staring in front of him. "So, just like I explained in the advertisement, you are to help me with the ranch and the horses. You will have your own apartment and you'll be starting monday. Any questions?" asked Elliot, smiling. "Erm, no. Everything's pretty clear!" said Autumn, smiling. "Fine then! My daughter Tristan will show you where you'll be living." he said, grabbing Autumn's empty cup. "Euh, sure." replied Autumn, suddenly turning red.

Elliot disappeared inside and came back minutes later with a blonde teenage girl who looked extremely bored. "Hi!" said Autumn. "Hi." replied Tristan. Without saying anything else, Tristan started walking towards a building in the back of the house. They finally arrived in front of what looked like a small hunting cabin. Tristan opened the door and Autumn's eyes got wider as she glanced around the small cabin. There was three rooms inside the cabin: one for the kitchen, one for the bedroom and one for the bathroom. It was fully furnished and Autumn took some time to admire where she would be living for at least the next month. "Thank you, Tristan." said Autumn while taking off her plaid shirt. "Oh shit! That's so cool!" shouted Tristan, staring at Autumn's left arm covered with tattoos. "Well, thank you." Autumn answered, happy to finally see a reaction from the teen. But Tristan's face changed within seconds and she went back outside, leaving Autumn alone.

Autumn went outside and sat on the porch, watching the rain fall. She knew she would have a great summer here. The job looked easy, Elliot looked like a nice man and she was sure Tristan would become less shy with time. But for now, all she wanted to do was to smoke a cigarette and unwind a bit. She went to her car and searched for her pack of cigarettes when she heard someone behind her. "I don't want to bother you but Tristan would like to have you over for dinner." Said Elliot, passing a hand in his hair. "Tell her I'll be there." replied Autumn, smiling. "Tattoos have a weird effect on teens." she added.

After unpacking her things, Autumn went to knock at the door. Tristan was the one who opened the door. Autumn followed her inside the kitchen where a nice smell was coming from. "Wine?" Asked Elliot, busy mixing vegetables in a bowl. Autumn nodded and grab the glass he was handing her. "So, what do you do for a living? Tristan asked. "Dad did not say anything about you." Autumn looked at Elliot who was rolling his eyes. "I work with horses. And I'm studying to become a vet." answered Autumn. "Do you have a horse?" asked Tristan. "Had, he was the best!" said Autumn, grabbing her phone. She searched for a video while Tristan leaned over her shoulder, curious.

The video started and Autumn looked at Aladdin, her horse, dancing around while she was playing violin. "Whoa! How did you make him do that?!" asked Tristan, completely amazed. "Love, free time and a lot of patience!" replied Autumn, laughing. "Dinner's ready." said Elliot, looking amused.

As they sat at the table, Autumn realized that things were going better than what she had hoped for. On the phone, Elliot sounded more strict but in person, he was totally different. She was not expecting to share dinner with them during the first night but she could not complain; the food was good, Tristan was asking tons of questions and Elliot was listening. Autumn could swear that, thru her answers, he was deciding if he should keep her or not. After dinner, Tristan went to her room and Autumn was getting ready to leave. "See you on Monday." said Elliot, both hands in dirty dish water. "Yeah, thank you for that wonderful first day!" replied Autumn, going back to her small cabin, smiling.

AN: This is the only author's note I will be writing until the end of this story. It is when I heard someone make fun of a couple that I decided to write this story. To me, love will never be something disgusting or weird. When people are in love, they do not need mean comments or silly questions. Love is not something that others choose for you, you decide who you love, not them. I decided to write it under Sons of Anarchy because, by now, I think that everyone knows that I have an enormous crush on Mark Boone Junior and that I also love Sons of Anarchy.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

_A year later._

Autumn was standing in front of Tristan's horse, her violin against her chin. She bowed in front of the horse and he did the same thing. Autumn then started playing and the horse slowly moved from the left to the right. "I can't believe you made him do it!" said Tristan, amazed. "Deciding to stay here was the best decision of your life!" Tristan said, hugging Autumn. Autumn smiled, patted the horse and put the violin back in its case. "You'll be late for school!" replied Autumn.

Shortly after summer, Autumn had faced one of the most challenging decision of her entire life. To go back to Atlanta or to stay in Charming and work full time for the Oswald family. Elliot and Tristan were like family now for Autumn and she had no regret leaving her old life behind. She had no family waiting for her back there, no job, only a boring school. With her mind set on staying, it was with great pleasure that she had announced to the Oswald that she was staying with them.

Autumn turned around and waved at Tristan who was leaving for school then turned around to look at the horse. "Let's ride for a while, okay?" she asked the horse, slowly petting its ribcage. She jumped on the saddle and press the horse's sides lightly with her boots. "It's been a while so go easy on me okay?" she said as the horse slowly moved forward. As she got more comfortable with the horse, Autumn kept going faster and faster. She had missed how amazing it was to ride a horse this early in the morning. After a short ride, she brought the horse back to its stale and went to her house, wanting and needing a good shower. To her surprise, Elliot was sitting on the porch, two cups of smoking hot coffee next to him. "'Morning boss!" she said, grabbing a cup. She moved away from Elliot a bit and lighted up a cigarette, pushing her curly red hair away from her face. "You sure know how to ride." he said, smiling. "You think he's ready for tonight?" he asked. "Yeah, he's a tough boy, the kids will love him." Autumn answered, remembering that she, too, had to get ready for the night. There was a travelling circus coming to town and Elliot had offer free horse rides to kids.

Later that evening, Autumn was standing in front of her dresser, Tristan sitting on her bed, trying to find out what to wear. "I'll wear my usual things, Tristan." said Autumn, sighing. "Ah come on! You need to wear something more feminine! Who knows who'll be at the party!" shouted the teen, looking inside Autumn drawers. "Honey, I don't have time for that." said Autumn, grabbing a pair of jeans. "Maybe you have a crush on my dad! You'd be a cool mom!" shouted Tristan. Autumn coughed and almost fell on the floor. "Honey, your father's my boss!" she said, grabbing a white tank top. "That conversation is over, young lady. Now get your stuff ready." said Autumn who wanted to end the conversation. She grabbed a plaid shirt, rolled up the sleeves and grab the car keys from the dresser. She jumped in her cowboy boots and rapidly closed the door behind her. Tristan was already waiting in the car and Autumn jumped inside and started driving while Tristan was deciding what she wanted to listen to. They both sang along to a popular pop song and after a while they arrived at the carnival.

Autumn spotted Elliot and went to meet him. "Before you get him ready, there's two things I brought you." he said, grabbing a cowboy hat and Autumn's violin from inside his truck. "Tristan told me about what you do with her horse. I want you to do it. I won't take no as an answer." he said, smiling. Autumn turned red and shook her head before taking the horse out of the trailer. "Okay big boy, time to make some kids happy!" she said, walking towards the empty spot where she would work with the horse.

Around seven o'clock, after making many kids happy, Autumn decided to take a well-deserved break and asked Elliot to watch the horse. She spotted Tristan having fun with her friends and she waved at her then made her way to one of the stands to grab something to drink. That was when she heard someone singing. She turned around and saw the behind of a stage. She grabbed her cup of coffee, lighted up a cigarette and went in front of the stage. On it, Elvis was shaking and singing, making people laugh and clap their hands. Autumn played along and went to grab Tristan to dance with her. "Your father asked me to make your horse dance." she told her before swirling her around. Tristan laughed and smiled before going back with her friends. Autumn grabbed another coffee, lighted up another cigarette and made her way back to Elliot. "Okay, get ready, I'll go around telling people to gather around here." he said before leaving. Autumn sat on the picnic table and looked at the horse, sighing. "I'm nervous as fuck." she said before throwing her cigarette butt away. She took off her plaid shirt as people started to gather around them. "Be a horse, not an ass okay?!" she whispered to the horse before placing her violin on her chin and bowing down. The horse did the same and as Autumn started playing and dancing, the horse did the same. Instead of bowing in front of the crowd, Autumn went to the horse to pat its head then she turned around and they bowed down together. When she lifted her head up, she saw man with leather jackets from a distance, Elliot by their side. Next to him was standing the man who sang like Elvis. That's when she bumped right into Tristan who was coming her way. "Hey watch it!" she said before hugging Autumn. "Yeah, thank you." vaguely replied Autumn, unable to look away from the man standing a couple of feet away.

After a while, Elliot finally came back and hugged her, smiling. "Elliot, who are these guys?" she asked, wanting to know more. "Men I want to be seen with. Sons of Anarchy. They pretty much run the town. But... You've been here for a year now, you should know them!" he said while helping her take the saddle off the horse. "Where am I if I'm not at the ranch? At the grocery store, the drugstore or my house. I'm not the kind of girl to go downtown." she said while helping the horse climb inside the trailer. She closed the door and went in front of the pickup truck. "I'll be back in a while she said before starting the truck.

On her way to the ranch, she could not stop thinking about how pretty the man dressed like Elvis was and how his voice was still echoing inside her head. She took the horse back to its stall, kissed it good night and went back to the fair. She searched around to see the man but could not find him anywhere. Someone grabbed her hand and she saw Elliot laughing. He passed her arm behind his and began walking, laughing. "I think you had a little too much to drink. And it's not a good idea to do something like this, Tristan might think we're dating or something." said Autumn, remembering the conversation she had had with Tristan. "Hey, I'm just taking care of my employee!" he said before leaving to go with someone else.

Autumn kept walking around, looking at people having fun. Some even congratulated her for the small show she had made. She lighted up a cigarette and sat down. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. "My friends think you are so cool!" said Tristan, hugging Autumn even tighter. "Is everything okay?" asked Tristan, feeling that Autumn was distant. "Yeah. Just relaxing." replied Autumn, the man's voice still echoing inside her head.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

A month had passed but Autumn was still thinking about the man she had seen at the fair. She grabbed the flour on the counter and poured it in the mixing bowl in front of her. "Oh my God, Autumn!" she heard Tristan scream next to her. She stopped pouring the flour so fast she almost dropped the bag on the counter. She started laughing and looked at Tristan. "What is wrong with you these days?!" asked Tristan, dusting the flour off her arms. "Nothing, honey." replied Autumn, touching the tip of Tristan's nose with her finger, covering it with flour. Tristan was about to throw flour on Autumn when Elliot came in. "Ladies, if you keep throwing flour at each other, you won't have any left for the school sale." he said while grabbing some flour in his hand and throwing it at Autumn and Tristan. "Oh you!" shouted Autumn, throwing some more at him. After a couple of minutes of them fighting in the kitchen, they all sat down, laughing their hearts out. "These were actually for us, those for the sale are already packed and waiting for us to bring them to hungry kids." said Autumn, still laughing. "Let's get ready." Autumn said to Tristan. "Unless you want someone to buy and eat you." she added, sticking her tongue out.

Autumn left the house to go to her own cabin. She quickly showered, grabbed a pair of black skinny pants and a grey t-shirt, slipped into her sandals then went to meet with Tristan outside. They left the ranch singing loudly and arrived at the school a couple of minutes later. "Go to the table, we'll meet over there." said Autumn, grabbing the boxes filled with cookies. After stacking all the boxes on her left arm, Autumn closed the door and slowly made her way to her table. "Tristan, help!" she said, trying to hold onto the boxes. But it was not Tristan who helped her, it was a tall, lean woman. "Thank you..." said Autumn. "Gemma Teller-Morrow." answered the woman. "You must be Autumn, I heard a lot about you." she said, still smiling. Autumn stared at her, unsure. She was not going too often to town and was not talking to a lot of people inside Charming. "Rumours go fast in a small town, sweetheart." Gemma said before leaving, waving at other people. "Hurry, we need to sell cookies!" said Tristan who had appeared next to Autumn. While unpacking the cookies, Autumn tried to understand what had just happened. She was not sure if the woman wanted to be nice or just to make sure that Autumn knew who she was. But she soon forgot about her when Tristan started making jokes with Autumn.

After a couple of hours, she saw kids running around a small stage and looked carefully and saw the man again. He was still dressed like Elvis and was playing with the kids. Autumn could not help but smile and stare at him. That was when Tristan pushed her. "Autumn! Gemma's talking to you!" she heard Tristan say. "Oh, sorry. I was kinda daydreaming" she said, trying not to blush. "I was just telling Tristan that we are throwing a small party at the garage and that it would be fun to see you there." said Gemma. "Euh, yeah, if Elliot is okay with that." she said, grabbing her phone. "He is, he's coming too." answered Gemma before Autumn could even open her phone. Gemma then walked away, waving at Tristan, leaving Autumn totally speechless. "She does it with everyone but she's cool." said Tristan while giving a bag of cookies to a small child. Autumn nodded then stared at the stage again. The man was talking to one of the man with him. After a couple of minutes, music was heard and the man started singing. Autumn grabbed Tristan and brought her near the stage to dance with her. Tristan laughed and danced along, having fun with Autumn who was staring at the man most of the time. One time he looked her way and Autumn blushed, turned her head around and pretended to look at the grass like it was the most interesting thing in the entire world.

After selling all their cookies, Tristan and Autumn went back home to get ready for the party. She stepped inside and saw Elliot standing in the kitchen, a shirt in one hand, a towel wrapped around his waist. "Oh shit!" she yelled before looking the other way. "Dad!" Tristan shouted. "Sorry, I was not expecting to see you this early." he said before running off upstairs. "Is it true that Tristan is allowed to go to the party this Gemma is throwing?" asked Autumn to Elliot who was still upstairs. "Yeah. I'm going too. You'll have fun." he shouted. Autumn rolled her eyes and went outside to go to her own cabin.

She looked at all her clothes, turned all the drawers outside down and finally found something she could wear to a party: tight kaki pants, a black tank top with a golden owl and some sneakers. She went in the shower, quickly dressed and went to pick up Tristan who showed her the way to TM garage. Autumn parked and followed Tristan as she stepped inside the building.

Inside, people were talking, drinking and dancing. Kids were running everywhere. Men were wearing their patches and cut. Some women were barely clothed. Autumn froze in the entrance. She was not used to parties like this. That was when someone grabbed her hand and turned her around. "Autumn, this is my husband, Clay Morrow." said Gemma. The man named Clay grabbed Autumn by the shoulders and looked at her in the eyes. "So, you're the country girl my wife was talking about all the time!" he said, smiling. Autumn could not help but think that he looked like a shark. "Nice to meet you." she said. Gemma then grabbed her hand and showed her around.

From the other side of the room, Bobby was sitting on a couch, a crow eater next to him. He had spotted Autumn since she had walked inside the room. It was not the first time he had seen her. He knew she was staring at him quite often. He had spotted her at the fair with the kids, he had heard Gemma and Elliot talk about her, he had seen her stare at him at the school. Without knowing her, he knew who she was. "She looks so young." he said to himself. He looked around and spotted Elliot's kid, Tristan, talking to Opie's kids. "You should see what Autumn can do with my horse. She makes him dance while she plays violin!" she said, imitating Autumn. "She's so cool!" she added. Bobby stared at them, smiling. At least, they had something in common. He looked back at her. She was at the bar with Gemma and Jax, looking completely lost. From what she looked like, Bobby knew that she felt out of place. He spotted her going outside but did not had time to move because Clay came to him. "Let's go get this shit done." he said, pointing the door with his chin. "Burning a coward instead of talking to a pretty girl, what a fucked up night." he mumbled to himself before finishing his beer and going outside, thinking about that pretty country girl.

Inside her car, Autumn was smoking, trying to understand how the hell she had ended up here. She did not understand why Elliot was friendly with people like these. She was used to violence, country people were not the calmest people in the world, but a biker club? That was truly unexpected. She grabbed her phone, texted to Elliot that she was not feeling well and that she was going back to her place. She waited a bit for his answer then left, the music inside her car covering the yells of the man chained inside the garage.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

Starring at the horses while sipping a cup of coffee, Autumn was thinking about the man she now called Pretty Elvis. She was still trying to understand how he could live such a violent life. She had wanted to talk to him at the party but had no idea what she could talk about with this man. Suddenly, she heard someone knocking at the door. She opened up and saw Tristan and one of her friend standing on the porch. "Of fuck." Autumn mumbled to herself, remembering she had promised Tristan she would take her and her friend for a horseback ride. "Just gimme a minute okay?" she said to the teenagers, closing the door. She quickly dressed up, placed her hair in a ponytail and grabbed her cowboy hat. "Okay, ladies! Ready?!" she asked the kids. They both cheered and ran to the horses. Autumn followed them slowly, helped Tristan's friend climb on a horse then climbed on her own horse.

"Will you play some violin after?" asked Tristan's friend while they were getting deeper inside the forest. "If Big Boy wants to." she said, scratching behind the ear of her horse. "You ladies wanna go faster?" Autumn asked. The two teenagers nodded cheerfully and Autumn showed them how to properly stand then they all took off. When they finally came back to the ranch, Autumn was too busy laughing with the girls to notice the motorcycles parked in front of Elliot's house. She ran inside her house, grabbed her violin and went back to het horse. Again, she bowed down in front of her horse and started playing. She swirled around while the teens were clapping in their hands, laughing. She bowed down again and heard someone slowly clapping behind her. She turned around and saw Clay Morrow and another man standing behind her. "This is impressive." said Clay while the other man went closer to the horse. "Such an impressive beast." he said while slowly caressing the horse. "Tig, you are freaking me out. Autumn, I need to ask you a favour." said Clay, looking serious. "Of course." Autumn answered, unsure. "Elliot mentioned that you wanted to become a vet. Well, my wife' s bird is not feeling really well these days. If you could help her, she will probably love you." he said, the same shark-like smile on his face. "Euh, of course. When can I go?" she asked. "Whenever you can." he answered, giving her the address before leaving with his friend.

After the kids left, Autumn stayed outside to smoke a cigarette, thinking. She was not sure about going to see Gemma. But at the same time, she hoped that the man would be there. "Oh, fuck it, I'll go." she said to herself. She dressed up and went to her car.

Gemma and Clay's house was almost as big as Elliot's and Autumn could not help but think that being an outlaw meant to have a lot of cash. There was several bikes standing in front of the house and she made sure not to crash into one before parking. She knocked at the door and Gemma went to open it. Inside, people were drinking and talking and Autumn smelled what she thought was a roast beef cooking in the oven. "Hey, sweetheart, come on in." she said, grabbing Autumn's shoulders before kissing both her cheeks. Autumn looked around. "Autumn." Gemma said before pointing Autumn. "Bobby, Opie, Chibs, Happy, Piney, Jax who's my son, Tig, Juice and I think you already know my husband." Gemma added while pointing at all the men. Autumn waved her hand and made a shy smile then Gemma brought her inside her bedroom. Gemma went to open the cage and showed the bird to Autumn. After examining it for several minutes, Autumn placed it back inside its cage and closed the door. "Well, it's nothing too serious. Just place it near an open window for several days and it should be okay. I think it is just a simple intoxication by cigarette smoke. Birds are extremely sensitive to it." she said while looking at the bird. "Yeah, that's what I thought it was. Why don't you stay, have dinner with us?" Gemma asked. "Oh, no, got too much work at the ranch." said Autumn. "As you wish but I know someone who would love to see you sitting at this table." said Gemma while looking at the table. Autumn blushed, quickly waved at the people sitting at the table and made her way outside.

"She looks as wild as the horses she takes care of." said Tig to Bobby while he watched Autumn walking away. "Or maybe just afraid." said Bobby, thinking that to see an entire biker club was probably something scary for someone not used to it. "She is not one of the dirty whores you bang all day. When I call her sweetheart, I actually mean it." said Gemma, getting out of the kitchen. Bobby listened to the comments, actually wishing that Autumn would have stayed. "Go see Elliot then go knock at her door. Easy as that brother." said Clay with a gigantic smile. They all laughed as Bobby watched his plate, trying to find a way to talk to that little country girl.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Laying in her bed, Autumn tried to understand why she had left Gemma's house when she had offered her to stay for dinner. "What an idiot." Suddenly, her alarm clock ringed. She closed it and got out of bed, making her way to the bathroom. From the window, she could see the sun slowly rising behind the clouds. After a short and refreshing shower, she grabbed her jeans, tank top and plaid shirt, dressed up and went to the stalls. She waved at Elliot and Tristan who were leaving for the rest of the day then got one of the injured horse out of its stall. After a couple of exercises, she brought it back to change its bandages. While walking with the horse next to her, she wondered why the Sons seemed to get along so well with her. Yes, she was part of the Oswald family; yes, she liked one of them a lot and lately, she seemed to be everywhere the Sons were and that was making her go crazy.

She did not realize that a car had pulled over in front of the house and it was only when her horse started to move backwards that she noticed the man standing behind her. He was dressed in a elegant way with salt and pepper hair and he was tall. "Sorry to bother you, miss. I have an appointment with ." he said, shaking Autumn's hand. " is not here right now. He'll be back later, Mister..." said Autumn. "Hale." he answered before leaving.

Far from the stalls, Jacob Hale grabbed his phone, wishing to hear good news on the other side. But the phone kept ringing and ringing and nobody ever picked it up. "Fucking sons of bitches." he shouted, slamming the phone against the dashboard.

Far from there, Bobby, Clay, Jax and Tig were firing shots at some of the L.O.A.N. members, doing the best to kill them while staying alive. The League had appeared in town around the same time Jacob Hale had decided to run up to become Charming's mayor. They had been selling drugs, harassing people that were not white, threatening shop owners on main street. "I think we're done, boys." said Clay, slowly getting up. "Check on your loved one. Make sure they are alright." said Jax, grabbing his phone. Bobby stared at them, unsure about what do to. "Go to the ranch you idiot." yelled Chibs, pushing Bobby towards his bike.

When he arrived near the ranch, he stopped and walked for he rest of the trip. He was all bloody and did not want Autumn to see him like this. He watched her taking care of one of the horses, she was sitting on a small stool, the horse's leg in her hands. He grabbed his phone and dialled Chibs number. "She's okay." he said before hanging up. He watched Autumn for a moment and walked away.

Later, Elliot came back, alone. "Where's Tristan?!" asked a worried Autumn. "She went to see her mother. She does not like it but she has no choice. Looks like it's only you and me for a week." Elliot said, staring at Autumn. "I'll miss her." said Autumn, staring at the empty car in the driveway. "You'll have so much work to do you won't even have time to think!" said Elliot while grabbing Autumn's shoulder.

Hidden in a bush near the house, Ernest Darby watched the entire scene. He had been ordered to follow Oswald to his home and to try to find something that would hurt Oswald so much he would have no choice but to sell his lands to Jacob Hale for his Charming Heights project. That's when his phone rang. "You hurt the girl, you hurt Oswald." he said, unaware that the Sons would not take to see one of their own get hurt.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Just like every other day, Autumn woke up and got ready to work still half asleep. She grabbed a cup of coffee and went to drink it outside while smoking a cigarette. The sun was shining, promising another fantastic day. She then went to the stalls and took the sick horse out. "How are you feeling today?" she asked, slowly petting the horse's side. She then took it outside and walked around with it, looking at its ankle. "You're healing up pretty well!" she said, grabbing a candy from the inside of her vest. The horse rapidly took it and started chewing the caramel while Autumn laughed.

Inside the Chapel, Bobby was alone, thinking about how he could go see Autumn. He had no reasons to go to the ranch except for talking to Oswald but he had nothing to say to him at the moment. It was killing him not to be able to talk to this girl. She liked him, he liked her but yet, they never had the chance to talk to each other. He got out of the Chapel and went to sit at the bar when he heard Opie talking with his kids. "No, I can't go there with you. She has not invited you and I don't have time for this." said Opie, looking at his kids. "What's wrong, brother?" He asked. "They want to go see Tristan and Autumn." he said, sighing. "Well, I can go with them." he said, thinking to himself that he was extremely happy that his brothers had kids. Opie nodded, the kids yelled out of joy and soon, they were all sitting in the truck, ready to go to the ranch.

While feeding the horses, Autumn noticed a black van coming to the ranch. It parked in front of the house and two kids go out, screaming and running. Autumn recognized Tristen's friends and smiled. Then she saw fuzzy hair followed by a fuzzy beard. "Oh my Lord." she whispered to the horse, trying to stay calm. The kids soon arrived to her and went to the horse. "I"m sorry but Tristen is not here." said Autumn, sad to see the expression on the kid's faces. "But you can ride a horse with me if you want!" she said, looking at them smile too. "And you can come too, Bobby." she said, trying not to blush. "Oh, euh, no thanks." he said, passing his hand in his hair. "Why?" Autumn asked, curious. "Because I never did it. I'm kinda scared." he admitted while the kids laughed at him. "Well, I never ride a motorcycle before but I'm not afraid of it!" replied Autumn, laughing. "If I ride this horse, will you ride with me?" he asked, immediately regretting it. "Yeah, sure!" replied Autumn. "Wait here." she said, disappearing inside the stalls. She came back with a black and a brown horse and took the other one back inside. She helped Opie's kids to climb on the brown one then looked at Bobby, laughing. "Climb on it!" she said, showing him how to do. Bobby slowly climbed on the horse, thinking he looked like a total idiot. Autumn then went to get her own horse and they took off inside the forest. "You guys okay?" she asked, turning around. The kids looked like they were having fun but Bobby was as pale as a ghost. "Chill out. He knows where he's going." she said, trying to calm him down. She laughed louder as she watched Bobby struggling to remain calm.

When they finally got back to the ranch, she took the kids down the horses and helped Bobby. "See, there"s nothing to fear about them!" she said, smiling. "Okay, little fellas, I'll tell Tristan you came to see her." Autumn said, waving at the kids who were leaving towards the van. "Thank you for that, they really wanted to come here." said Bobby, passing his hand in his hair. "About that ride, are you free tonight?" he added, staring at Autumn. "On, euh, yeah, sure!" she said, blushing. "See you tonight then." he said, walking backwards while smiling at her. Autumn went back inside the stalls, taking care of the horse while smiling like an idiot.

Later that night, she was standing in front of her dresser, unsure about what to wear. She threw everything on her bed and finally opted for a pair of black skinny pants with a purple tank top and a grey cardigan. "Should be alright." she told herself while trying to manage her messy curly red hair. She heard someone knocking at the door and went to open it so fast she almost fell. "Hel-" she said before receiving a punch on the nose. She placed her hands on her bloody face to protect herself and received a powerful blow on her stomach. She looked up to see a lean, masked man holding a steel rod. He started kicking Autumn who curled up, trying to protect herself. He then grabbed her hair and pulled his face closer to him. "You tell Oswald we need his land or we'll come back until he understands." said the man, licking Autumn's face before banging her face on the floor. Before passing out, Autumn noticed one thing: a cross tattooed on the man's throat.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

While holding Autumn's hand, Elliot Oswald wondered who would have hurt such a sweet girl. He knew the Sons would never do such a thing but, in the back of his mind, a small voice kept telling him they were outlaws, bikers. He had told the doctors and nurses that nobody was allowed in Autumn's room except himself. He felt movement under the palm of his hand and watched Autumn's eyes slowly opening. "Easy, now. You're with me, at the hospital. You're in good hands." he said, slowly caressing her hand. "Where's Bobby?" she asked before coughing. Before he could answer, the door slammed open. "What the fuck, Elliot?! Asking that nobody entered the room? We want to make sure she is okay!" said Clay Morrow who was followed by Jax, Tig and Bobby.

Clay was about to jump on Elliot but Bobby and Jax stopped him. "Not the place, brother." whispered Bobby. "And I'm fucking sure he didn't do it." said Jax while sitting next to Autumn. A nurse entered and Tig took the files off her hands before pushing her outside the room and closed the door. "So, what's the damage?" asked Elliot. "Broken leg, broken ribs, a pretty kick ass black eye and other things I don't understand." said Tig before putting the files away. "Tell me who did this to you, honey." said Tig, touching Autumn's face. "Probably one of you fucking weird friends! That's what happened when you hang out with the wrong crew!" Elliot shouted. "Oh yeah, sure, we'd totally let something like that happen!" replied Tig.

While the men were fighting, Autumn tried to remember something about the man who had attacked her. Everything was too blurry and the men were too loud. She tried to sit on her bed, pushed with the wrong leg and ended up screaming and crying. Elliot kept screaming that it was the Son's fault. "Stop it!" Autumn yelled. "The message was not for them, Elliot, it was for you. Sell your lands to whoever wants it because if you don't, they'll do it again and again until you understand!" she said before breaking in tears. "Get out, all of you!" she said, looking at them.

"Guard the door." asked Clay to Bobby as they were getting outside the room. "You, you comin' with me." Clay said, looking at Elliot. "We need to talk." Elliot nodded and followed Clay outside the hospital. Clay wondered as much as Elliot who would have done such a thing to Autumn. She was not even hanging out with them so it had to be something related to Elliot. He had confessed to the Sons that he was running up for the mayor position against Jacob Hale. "It's not us, brother. We like this girl. We'll find out who did it." he said. "Hale, he wanted my lands." answered Elliot. "We'll take care of it." answered Clay. "Go back to her, she needs family." he added before walking away.

Inside, Bobby was hesitating. He wanting to go talk to Autumn, to comfort her. He was not sure she wanted to see him. He felt bad, thinking that it was his fault, that he should have been to the ranch earlier, that he should have protected her. He sighed, passed a hand in his messy hair and went inside. Shortly after him, a doctor came in with very bad news. "You won't be able to ride your horse until your leg fully heals." he said while looking at his files.

It was like a shot to the chest. Autumn felt pain, anger and sadness all at once. She could not ride her horse until her leg heals but the doctor had never told her how long it would take. "Okay." she said, resigned. When he left, she looked at Bobby and tried to stay strong. But the tears soon came to her eyes and she placed her hands on her face, sobbing. "Hey, honey. Please, don't cry." said Bobby, touching Autumn's shoulder. "Fuck it." he thought before grabbing Autumn in his arms.

When Elliot entered the room, he only saw Bobby, Autumn disappearing behind his hair and beard. "Let's go home." he told her, looking at them. "You think it's a good idea to let her go back home alone? She's coming with us." said Jax who had arrived behind. Both Autumn and Elliot looked at each other, shocked. "Where?" asked Autumn. "TM, honey." replied Clay with the same shark-like smile Autumn hated so much.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

While sitting next to Gemma who was driving, Autumn kept thinking about what to bring to TM. When Clay had told her they were taking her with them, she had felt safe knowing she would be somewhere people could protect her. Her trust in Elliot had faded away even if he had stood by her side at the hospital. She had received the punches instead of him and she knew she would not feel safe even if she would live inside his house. "You okay, sweetheart?" asked Gemma. "Yeah, just trying to figure out what to bring with me." Autumn answered. "Just bring what you need most, if you need anything else, someone will go pick it up for you." said Gemma. Autumn lighted up a cigarette and stared at Gemma. "Pick it up for me?" she asked, unsure. "Yeah, one of the prospects will be with you all the time. If you need anything, you just ask him." Gemma replied, smiling. Autumn tried to understand what Gemma had told her, she had no idea how things worked in a motorcycle club but she did not wanted to be annoying by asking tons of questions.

"You don't mind coming with us?" asked Gemma. "No. Besides, where would I go? I can't ride my horse, I can't take care of the horses, I don't feel safe at the ranch." answered Autumn. "And you got a crush on one of them." Gemma said, pointing the men with her chin. Autumn blushed but did not say anything.

Driving his bike, Bobby kept thinking about Autumn coming to TM. He knew she would live there for as long as necessary and it made him happy. But at the same time, he was scared. He was used to getting drunk and high, he was used to have sex with crow-eaters. He knew Autumn's lifestyle was the total opposite. He did not wanted her to see the girls touching and kissing him, he did not wanted to get drunk while she was there.

When Gemma parked, Autumn grabbed her crutches and slowly got down the car. On the porch was standing Elliot. She smiled at him then unlocked the door. "Why don't you stay here?" he asked, looking at Autumn slowly making it to her bedroom. "I don't feel safe." Autumn answered, pushing clothes in her small suitcase. "They're bikers." Elliot said, grabbing her arm. "And you have shady business. What are the options, hey?" said Autumn before going back outside.

"Good to go, honey?" asked Gemma. Autumn nodded and they drove off to TM. When they finally arrived to the garage, Autumn waited for Gemma to give orders and show her her new room. "Kip, take these bags upstairs. Chuck, prepare some coffee." said Gemma while walking inside the clubhouse. "She truly owns the place." Autumn thought to herself, looking at Gemma walking and talking. Autumn then looked at the stairs and slowly got to the second floor.

She sat on the bed and Gemma came in with two cups of coffee. "Want one?" Gemma asked, a pack of cigarettes in one hand. Autumn nodded and they both smoked in silence. "You can change and take a shower if you want. If you need anything, just ask, okay, sweetheart?" Autumn nodded. "We won't let someone hurt you again baby." Gemma said before going away.

Autumn unpacked her things and decided to go take a shower. She grabbed a folding chair sitting in a corner of the room and placed it inside the bathtub. After a long and hot shower, she grabbed plaid pyjama pants, a white tank-top and a black bra, dressed herself and went back downstairs.

Before going to the bar, she stopped to look around her. Some guys were playing pool, Bobby was sitting at the bar, watching TV. The man named Chuck was behind the bar and other people were scattered across the room, chatting. She slowly made her way to the stool next to Bobby and sat down. "Can I have a cup of coffee, please?" she asked, placing her elbows on the bar counter. Chuck poured some and gave it to her then she lighted up a cigarette and watched TV with Bobby. "It's so peaceful, really different then the first night I came here." she said, looking at Bobby. "Yeah, let's hope it'll stay like that for a while." he answered, winking.

The more he looked at Autumn, the more he wanted to kiss her. From the corner of his eye, he kept examining her face. He really like her full lips, her tiny nose, everything. He was still not able to figure out why he liked that girl so much but he did not really care. She was young but he felt that she did not mind him being older then her. So when Autumn turned her head around to say something, Bobby could not resist. He grabbed her face and kissed her.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

She had not expected Bobby's kiss and she was not prepared to properly kiss. When his lips went away from hers, she opened her eyes to see him blush. "I felt like kissing you." he said. Autumn smiled and almost knocked him down the stool when she kissed him back. They both looked at each other, blushing and smiling. They did not know what to say, they did not know what to do but they felt good.

From that moment, they started talking. A lot. They both let it all out. They talked about everything. From past relationships to their favourite foods. Every evening, they would both sit at the bar and drink and talk thru the night, falling a little more in love every time.

8 months later.

"You sure about this, baby?" asked Bobby while Autumn placed her helmet on her head. "Honey, I need this." she said, waiting for him to start his bike. A couple of days ago, Autumn had confessed to Bobby that she missed the ranch, that she desperately wanted to see how her horses were doing. After her doctor had agreed to let her ride, Autumn had barely been able to sleep. After Bobby sat down, Autumn, helped by Opie, climbed behind him. "Have a nice ride!" Opie said, winking. Then Bobby took off.

At first, it was a little boring for Autumn. But when they left the city to take the small country roads, Autumn raised her head towards the sun and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. She had never expected a motorcycle to be this fun and she was having a blast.

Bobby could not help but smile. From Autumn's grip around his waist, he knew that she was enjoying it. He felt happy for her. Before Autumn could talk about how she felt, Gemma had came to him. Gemma could see how badly Autumn was missing being outside. But there was one thing that was worrying him. They now knew who had given Autumn a beating, who had cause so much trouble in Charming. It meant war for SAMCRO. And war meant lockdown.

Autumn had never experienced a lockdown or a real party with SAMCRO before and Bobby was worried. It was one thing to talk about his ex and past experiences, it was another to have them right in front of you. Autumn was no fool, she knew he had lived before her and that she was not too jealous about it. But he was wondering if she could endure seeing all the crow-eaters around him.

When they arrived at the ranch, Autumn carefully climbed down and waited for Bobby to help her walk to the ranch. But before she could get to the porch, the front door burst open and Tristan appeared, crying and smiling at the same time. Autumn wanted to warn her but Tristan was running too fast and when she jumped in her arms, they both fell on the ground. "Oh my God, are you okay?!" Elliot shouted, coming towards them. "Yeah, I'm fine." said Autumn, rubbing her ankle. "I'll call Kip, he'll bring you your crutches." said Bobby. "What happened to you?" asked a worried Tristan. "I fell down the stairs. You know how goofy I am!" replied Autumn, she answered, not happy to lie to Tristan but not wanting to scare her.

They both remained on the ground until Kip arrived and when she got back on her feet, Autumn followed Tristan to the stalls, leaving the men alone. "I see that you are taking good care of her." said Elliot, looking at Autumn and Tristan laughing. "She missed her. She misses this place." replied Bobby. "We miss her too." said Elliot.

"So, you kissed him?!" asked Tristan, curious to know everything about Bobby and Autumn. While laughing, Autumn explained to Tristan how things started and how happy she was. "My father misses you. A lot." Tristan admitted after a while. "Well, I miss you too!" replied Autumn before looking at the horses. "Come here!" she said, looking at her horse. Tristan went to open the door and Autumn grabbed her horse's neck and pressed her face against his nose. "I missed you so much." she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. With Tristan's help, she brought him outside and watched him run around. Bobby came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Happy?" he asked before kissing her neck. "Yeah, thank you."

After watching the horses for a while, Autumn got tired of standing up and decided to leave. She kissed Elliot and Tristan then climbed behind Bobby. As they took off, Bobby placed his hand on her thigh, making her smile.


End file.
